It was getting really late. While my body did not need that much sleep I was looking forward to a cosy bed. They wanted to ask us some questions though. Maybe I could just act like a typical noble and delay that.
As we left the carriage the guards dismounted. Their captain approached us. “Ladies, please follow me.”
“No.” I answered. “It’s been a long day, we will retire for the night. You can seek an audience tomorrow if you have questions.”
He looked a bit worried. “My ladies, I apologise, but I have to insist. My orders are to bring you to the royal inquisitor.”
Lucy snorted. “Good luck.”
I just stared at the soldier in charge. “We are foreign nobles and here on a diplomatic mission. So far we have been attacked in the bath and our guards' fate suggests they tried again. Only us wanting privacy for a swim spared us another fight. We even were harassed by Alexander.” I waited a moment to let that sink in and continued: “We are going to bed now. Tomorrow we will lodge a formal complaint about our treatment so far, and might discuss with the other delegations if the Empire’s actions can be seen as an attack. Now go to your royal inquisitor and tell him to actually be useful and find some criminals.”
Then I turned and walked away. Lucy followed while laughing. The guards did not dare to try anything. Not that they could have. I knew the way to our quarters but after a while a butler came running to guide us. As we entered our quarters we found Loriel and Elnora still awake enjoying a glass of wine. After we ensured some privacy with a spell we recounted today’s events.
“What a mess.” Loriel said. “At least it looks like you got away clean. Get some sleep, we will talk tomorrow.”
While I had a lot to think about I managed to fall asleep rather quickly. The next day I got up, had a quick shower and walked into our kitchen for breakfast. Lucy was sitting at the large table with a large buffet in front of her.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Morning. You are just in time for food. I ordered room service for us.” She said,
The table could normally seat ten people but right now half of it was filled with food. I saw sausages, bacon, cheeses, cured meats, eggs, a variety of bread, butter,... Besides the savoury part we had things like sweet pastries, honey and fresh fruit. And of course there was coffee.
I stared at the feast for a moment and said: “I love you.” It was a casual remark to show gratitude for her ordering breakfast. After a moment it dawned on me what I said and started blushing.
Lucy just smiled. “You are welcome.”
I took a seat and started filling my plate. The palace had excellent cooks. While I enjoyed the food Lucy said: “Loriel and Elnora are filing that complaint you threatened yesterday. Also, some imperial showed up to interview us but our elven guards told him to come back later.”
“Huh. They are up early. Wasn’t it like 3 or 4 in the morning when we went to bed?” I wondered while I grabbed a nice looking pastry.
“Yes, but elves require less sleep.” She looked at me while pointing that out.
I shrugged. “I might not need it but I enjoy sleeping. I blame the cat part in me.” My attention returned to the treat in my hand. It was shaped like a football with some decorative glazing on top. As I bit into it I experienced a buttery flakiness, like a croissant. Then I reached the filling, a rich chocolate cream with pieces of fresh strawberry. It paired really well with the bitterness of my black coffee.
“Is it also the cat part in you that is always hungry? Should I start carrying treats?” Lucy teased.
“One should always carry treats! We should raid their kitchen. I bet I could fit it into my storage.”
“That would only last for a bit. You need to kidnap their cook as well.”
“Hm… You know, we should hire a cook.” I suggested.
“We would need a combat cook with the amount of trouble we get into.”
“Maybe I should just take cooking classes instead? Something to figure out later I suppose.”
My storage allowed me to just stock up on cooked food in a city and then eat it later. So we did not really need a private cook. Still, the idea appealed to me.
“So, what are our plans for today? Besides eating.” Lucy asked.
“We will probably have to talk to some imperial and answer a few questions about yesterday. I don’t think giving a statement will take too long. Other than that, I will work on our bond to contact Lilastheria. That should also help us with a telepathic connection. We really need a good, secure way to talk in combat.”
“Yes, that would be useful.” Lucy agreed.
Our conversation was interrupted as we heard the door open. Loriel was back.